


Meet And Greet

by leavesfallfrom



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:06:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8953084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leavesfallfrom/pseuds/leavesfallfrom
Summary: A match made in heaven or just on Tinder?Marnie Fletcher is a Canadian, single, puppy obsessed, workaholic that is currently “living the dream” in London England. Niall Horan is a Irish fella, single, laid back, oh, and a rockstar that has taken over the world with his band of friends.     A story with meddling friends, terrible first impressions, and a match that could go up in flames.





	1. The Current Situation

You can’t base love on a dream.

 

We as humans tend to fall in love with the idea of someone. We create this amazing story based around the one person that has caught our eye and then believe that they are the one we need to spend the rest of our life with.

 

We fall in love with the potential, hoping that things will get better or flaws can be changed into endearing qualities or erased altogether.

 

Love isn’t what we often think it is.

Love is an idea.

A relationship is an idea.

You can’t hold any expectations to love.

 

And so, I don’t.  

 

***

 

The whispers were loud enough to alert me that someone was in my home. I checked my phone as I began walking down the hall, not at all worried about the two (or more) intruders because I knew what they were here for; coffee.

 

Even though I’ve ever only taken one sip of coffee in my life, I always have a stash of it in my house and apparently it’s the ‘good stuff’.

 

Thus, it wasn’t surprising to find one tall red head leaning against my kitchen counter and a blonde haired beauty sitting at the breakfast bar. These two were known to sneak around, pop in uninvited, no matter the time of day, if I was busy or not. I guess that was what being a best friend entailed, infringing in others lives.

 

“It’s seven o’clock in the morning,” I pointed out when I reached the kitchen and headed to the fridge.

“So it is,” Ruby (the tall red head) replied after taking a sip from her mug.

“Christine and I were just discussing an upcoming event,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down, waiting for me to budge.

 

Ruby had always been that way, ever since our first meeting seven years prior. She was always begging to share silly gossip with anyone that would listen (which always happened to be myself or Christine, although it was never asked for).    

The first time I met Ruby I had been unsure of our budding friendship. She was loud and talked a bit too much for my liking, but she was the first person to take me under her wing when I made the decision to move and start my career in London. It was also a bit hard to avoid her if I wanted to since I saw her everyday at work, but Christine was there to balance us out and keep me sane, and for that I was grateful.

 

“And what would this _event_ be exactly?” I asked, letting Ruby have one of her moments.

“I have a date!” she sang happily.

 

Without needing any more ammunition from Christine or myself she began describing her date and how she met him and how much potential he held blah blah blah.

 

The only time I stopped to listen was when my name was mentioned.

 

“You should try a date sometime Mar,” Ruby suggested, “You might actually meet a guy you like.”

“And you should try minding your own business, and I don’t care to meet anyone,” I added as an afterthought.

 

The last time I went on a date happened to be seven years ago, in which Ruby (and supposedly Christine, though she really had no say in the matter) scrolled through her phone of all her ex-boyfriends throughout the years or guys she has met and had yet to “shag” as Ruby would say. She landed on Wesley and the rest is history, literally nothing happened there.

 

It seemed that my job took up most of my time, so finding someone to sleep next to at night or finding someone to say ‘I love you’ to was not on my list of priorities at the moment.

 

And that completed my dating life.

 

***

 

**Ruby’s POV**

 

“I just feel-” I started to say, but was cut off by Marnie shooting down my idea of opening an account on a dating website.

“WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD SEX?” I yelled, grabbing Marnie’s attention in an instant.

 

A blush appeared on her cheeks and I watched as she looked around to see the reactions of passers-by that had heard my question.

 

“Don’t mind her,” Christine spoke up as we stepped into the elevator.

“Excuse me,” I demanded, “Marnie, you are a beautiful twenty-seven year old woman, with a hot bod, in which not one man has seen in at least the past year, and that I know is fact!”

“My sex life should be of no concern to you,” Marnie snapped and pressed the button to level 7.

“But it’s not just that,” I tried to assure her, though nothing seemed to be working.

“Enough,” she said before stepping out onto our floor.

 

Marnie, Christine, and I all headed in separate directions, ending the conversation, for now at least.  

 

Lunch was the best part of the job, not only because we got to schmooze clients while using the company credit card, but also because lunch was the time for gossip and inspiration.

 

“Got a new account,” Christine announced as she sat down at our usual table in the break room.

“Ehrmm,” I said around my mouthful of yogurt.

“Marnie’s gonna love it,” she said “one word, one flame, Tinder.”

 

It was in this moment that everything clicked and I realized that there was hope for Marnie’s love life, or at least her sex life.

 

“We need to make Marnie an account,” I stated, pointing my spoon at her in excitement.

“No,” Christine objected, “Mar would kill us.”

“But it would be perfect and it could totally work along with the campaign,” I added, “you could do a docuseries on the process with Marnie and then she’ll fall in love and be happy.”

“She’s already happy,” she rebutted.

 

I rolled my eyes and dove back into this grand idea of mine, sometimes I think I should have gone to school for the advertising part and not just graphic design cause my ideas were damn good.

 

As I kept pushing the idea and creating a concept around this whole campaign I could see in Christine’s eyes that she starting to like the idea, she was maybe even falling in love with it.

 

“Okay,” she said, finally agreeing.

 

***

 

**Marnie’s POV**

 

The text messages started just after lunch, each a different question concerning different aspects of my life, and they were all coming from one person; Ruby.

_What’s your favourite colour?? – I know it’s turquoise but I’m just making sure!! :)_

_Preference in men?? And by that I mean hair, eyes, body build.._

_Do you think it’s important for the people you associate with are as educated as you are i.e. do they need to be smart??_

_How would you describe your style? I was thinking business casual and cute, what do you think??_

_What is your opinion on Global Warming??_

_Thoughts on Americans??_

_Would you date someone outside your religion??_

 

And the messages continued throughout the rest of the day, finally ending when I tracked Ruby down and threatened a food ban whenever she came over. Needless to say the text messages stopped and I was soon answering calls and finishing up my work without the sound of Ruby’s text tone ringing in my ear.

 

***

 

Coming home at night was bittersweet. Sometimes I thought I should set up a tent in my office and call that my home, as I practically lived and breathed my work.

 

Work was something I could and would never get away from, no matter what.

 

Every where I went whether I was listening to the radio, walking the streets of London, or taking the tube, I was bombarded with advertisements, some that I have personally worked on and others that I cringed and turned away from.

 

So after finally calling it quits and heading home at nine o’clock at night, I dropped my bag on the bench just inside the door to my flat and headed straight to the kitchen.

 

Leftovers were a saving grace for me, as usually there was very little to no time to eat, especially when deadlines were tight.

 

After heating up some spaghetti and sauce, I headed over to the couch and clicked through the different channels until something non-reality related caught my eye. Within ten minutes of finishing my dinner, I was down and fast asleep on the couch with one leg hanging off and the television muted while two men danced around with swords fighting for the affections of a woman who could care less of either man.  

 

***

 

Every Friday acted as though it was Friday the thirteenth.

 

Friday’s were the days for most deadlines, whether we were trying to win a client with a proposal, or when the finished product of a campaign needed to be sealed and sent off to work its magic on the chosen target group; Friday’s were always busy and always hell.

 

“We need to get approvals from three clients today,” Christine said, as we walked to the boardroom for our first meeting of the day.

 

The first two clients were an easy steal, we had everything in check and it was a no brainer that they chose Leo (us) as opposed to Ogilvy one of our top competitors in London.

 

After a short break before our third and final meeting, I spoke with Christine.

 

“I think we have this in the bag,” I smiled and took a sip from my bottle of water.

“Why do you always say that? You’re going to jinx us!” she whined, “oh and uh before we go in there, I feel I should warn you that Ruby and I will be the only ones presenting.”

“What?” I questioned, confused.

“It will be alright, and will make sense soon,” she reassured “just keep calm at all times and everything will be just fine.”

 

I wasn’t exactly sure as to how that was supposed to reassure my worries, but I had to trust Christine and I knew I could, I mean she was one of my best friends, if I couldn’t trust her, then who could I trust? Jackson in cubicle seven? I think not.    

 

When Christine and I walked into the boardroom, representatives from Tinder and Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen and Christopher Gulczunski were already seated at the head of the table awaiting our presentation. I took my place in the last open chair and waited for Christine and Ruby to introduce themselves, along with the rest of our team.

 

I nodded along while Ruby was explaining the different platforms we would be using to reach the objectives that Tinder had outlined for us, and bounced my knee in nervous anticipation as Christine covered the budget allotted to each platform, which would ultimately seal the deal or give us the boot.  

 

“Now before we move on, if you decide to take our business, we have a proposition,” Ruby stated.

 

My ears perked up at this new information, as there was major off scripting going on right now.

 

“We would like to offer a member from our team to be apart of your campaign for the docu-series and the print ads,” Ruby explained.

 

I was surprised to hear what Ruby had to say, but needed to remember what Christine had told me before we entered this meeting. So I breathed in and out, trying to relax.

 

“May I ask to whom you had in mind?” Justin Mateen asked the question everyone (or maybe just myself) wanted to know.

“We as a team had all agreed that our Art Director, Marnie, would be a perfect fit,” Ruby smiled and pointed over my way for everyone to stare at.

 

When my name fell from Ruby’s lips my heart dropped into my stomach.

 

_Breathe in breathe out._

_Breathe in breathe out._

_Breathe in breathe out._

Those four words had become my mantra as I faked a smile and tried to make it through until the meeting ended.

 

I had no way of saying no; they all loved the idea of using me! How could I have possibly said no?

 

After the meeting was adjourned and hands were shaken in a way of thanks as we had also won this client over, I headed straight to my office without speaking to anyone.

 

The walls were glass so it was impossible for me to cry without being seen, it was also impossible to throw a fit of rage without having my fellow colleagues and potential clients think I’ve gone off my rocker. So instead I slumped down in my chair and turned to face the hustle and bustle down below that was London.

 

_Breathe in breathe out._

 

But it felt like I couldn’t breathe at all.

 

There was a knock on my door within less than a minute of me staring out my office window and I knew exactly who it would be, because there were really only two people who supposedly cared about my feelings.

 

“WE GOT IT MARNIE!!” I heard Ruby cheer as she, and without a doubt Christine, opened the door and walked into my office.

 

I was still on the verge of snapping and whether the outcome would be to cry or throw something through the glass walls was debatable. Therefore instead of responding to Ruby’s uplifting voice, I stayed slumped in my chair and never spoke a word.

 

“C’mon Mar, why aren’t you celebrating with us?” Ruby complained when I hadn’t uttered a word.

“How could you do that to me?” I asked, still quite baffled by the outcome of that meeting.

“We just want you to be happy,” Christine muttered.

“Don’t you want someone to come home to? Or to call when you’re feeling like shit or angry at?” Ruby added on.

 

I never felt any of these things Christine and Ruby were pointing out. I was happy, I was extremely happy with my life, I loved my job and my friends, and I never saw the need to have more than that, especially another body that stood beside me.

 

“That’s what I have you two for,” I stated, but realized that wasn’t enough for them.

 

My day was done, I had decided. There were no more meetings and deadlines had been met for this week, so it was time to head home for the day.

 

I packed up my tote, not bothering to speak to Christine or Ruby any longer and headed out.

 

It was five minutes into my ride on the tube when Ruby’s text tone came ringing through my tote and because I was tired and a bit curious as to what she had to say I opened the message.

 

_If ur interested or just wanted a look, Chris and I set up ur profile.. It’s connected to ur fb :)_

 

It wasn’t because I had all of the sudden become very interested in meeting a guy or interested in ‘starting the rest of my life’ with this godforsaken app, I downloaded the app because I needed to know what Ruby and Christine had said about me, and I cringed just thinking about the things that could be said.

 

Within minutes I was staring at myself on my phone and shaking my head in disbelief at my profile description.

 

This campaign had just begun.

 


	2. Indifference

**Niall’s POV**

“What ‘bout Zayn? How’s he?” dad asked.

 

It had been a couple weeks since I’d last spoken to Zayn, he had apparently jetted off to Fiji for two weeks for an extended holiday and we had yet to talk since.

 

“I uh, noticed you were on the line,” he added, after I finished telling about him about Zayn “with a lady friend.”

 

He gave me a look that was not unfamiliar to me, as every time I was papped or my name appeared on some gossip site that linked me to a girl, he wanted to know if at least one of those stories had some form of truth to them.

 

“Nah,” I shook my head “jus’ a friend.”

 

It was my go to response in these situations, but dad knew better. He knew that ‘just a friend’ meant we were friends, but with a few extra benefits.

 

“Ever thought ‘bout settlin’ down with a lass?” dad probed.

 

If I was given a penny for every time I was asked that question, I would be able to double the number in my bank account.

 

The thought occurred on more than one occasion, but with the way my life has been going there was no possibility that settling down could be doable.

 

“What do the boys tink?” dad asked, pushing the topic further.

“Say the same thing as ya,” I sighed; I was never going to hear the end of this.

 

***

 

“What ‘bout tha one lass wit the brown locks, she is proper fit… and nice,” Darragh said.

“Which one was that? They all got brown locks,” Dylan laughed, at the obvious preference I had in women.

 

I had obviously made this mistake of sharing the conversation I had earlier that day with my dad to my friends.

 

The only type of relationship I had with women was a friendship and whether that moved into the bedroom or not, didn’t exactly matter, nor did it change the way I felt about them. But apparently I was getting to the age where I needed to stop calling my lady friends over for a night and instead have a lass to call my own.

 

“It won’t be that hard to find one mate,” Sean said once they had all finished laughing at me.

“Jus’ go on POF,” Dylan choked out around another bout of laughter.

“What the fuck’s POF,” I asked, starting to get irritated.

“Pp-Plenty of Fish,” was what I heard from Dylan.

“Jus’ go on Tinder, so much easier mate,” Sean added.

“Or there’s lava life,” Darragh snickered “but you have to pay for that!”

 

I was done. I didn’t want to hear anything else they felt the need to say at my expense. I have always been constantly nagged and bothered, not only by my friends and family, but also by the media, and I didn’t want it anymore. Sometimes getting myself a lass sounded like a good idea, and I was never opposed to it, in the end though it seemed the cons outweighed the pros, and so I left it at that.

 

Maybe another time.

 

***

 

**Marnie’s POV**

 

Saturday’s were meant to be a day where I could quietly stalk people at the grocery store or mall, all for my job of course. It was also a time to clean and get things done that were impossible to attend to during the week. Instead, this Saturday was interrupted and my plans of cleaning and stalking were abandoned.

 

Evidently there was no time to be wasted in proceeding with the Tinder campaign, as Christine, Ruby and an unknown man equipped with a camera showed up at my front door.    

 

I was pushed out of the way and followed the trio into my living room where they began pulling things out of their bags. What they were getting ready for I had no idea.

 

I stood in the middle of the room, watching and listening to their conversation, but couldn’t for the life of me process any of it.

 

“Go get changed,” Ruby ordered.

 

I looked down to see what I was wearing, noting that my shirt was a little wrinkled, but my shorts were perfectly fine.

 

“I’m fine,” I stated.

“You want to be filmed in that?” Ruby quirked a brow, knowing me all too well, but I wasn’t giving her this one.

“I said I’m fine,” I reiterated.

“Alright then, lets get down to business,” she cheered.

 

Because my profile had already been created and I needn’t do anything more to change it, because in all honesty it was kind of perfect, I was sat down and pushed forward to either swipe right or left when a picture of a male appeared on my screen.  

 

I sighed at the first picture and shook my head. Jeff, age 29 was a bodybuilder, for obvious reasons he was a gym enthusiast, and is apparently an amazing chef. When Jeff isn’t busy at the gym he is completing missions to earn money, points, and new skills in _World of Warcraft._

 

_Swipe left._

 

“Some things can be overlooked,” Ruby muttered “he looked like a nice guy.”  

 

The next few options, or as Christine kept repeating, “possible matches” (the optimist she is) were just like Jeff – not my type _at all_ , until we came across William.

 

William, age 30, loves sports, which I could care less about, but good for him. He enjoys movies, music, and food. Although I was totally opposed to this idea that I need to find someone to fall in love with, if it were to be with any one of the ten men I had just declined, I would definitely choose William.

 

From his pictures he looked tall, had dark hair, with a few days scruff along his jaw. Overall he looked good, definitely my type.    

 

“HE’S A YES!” Ruby shouted “I CAN SEE IT IN HERE EYES!”

 

_Swipe right._

 

“Okay that’s it for the day,” I said, setting my phone down.

 

“What? You’ve only liked one guy out of eleven,” Christine pointed out “he may not even like you, not that he shouldn’t, you’re a total catch, but still…”  

 

The process was the same; it felt like for every ten guys I would find someone interesting, someone who could be a possible “match”.

 

“Look at him!” Ruby spoke up when the next profile finally loaded.

“He is good looking,” Christine agreed “but we’re looking for Mar, not you.”

 

I noticed Ruby awfully focused on Stephen’s profile and because I am a terrible friend and wanted her to feel a little disappointment, I swiped right.

 

“Nice choice,” I heard her mumble as I moved onto the next profile.

 

***

 

“So what we need from you now is a video diary entry,” Max, the cameraman said, handing me a camcorder.

 

I took the camcorder he held out to me and offered a smile as I walked him, Christine, and Ruby to the door and offered each a goodbye.

 

 _Okay_ , I thought to myself as I headed back to the living room. I dropped onto the couch and stared at the camera sitting on the coffee table for a good five minutes before reaching over and turning it on. I sat on the floor, to be level with the camera, and pressed record.

 

“This is kind of weird,” I said, looking into the lens and then around the room “I guess I’ll just talk about the basics and why I’m here.”

 

“I’m not looking for love,” I stated “it’s not something that is important to me, not something I’ve ever felt I’ve needed. My friends think that I’m lonely, but I’m not. I don’t mind being alone, I’ve been alone for nineteen years, why change you know. But I guess I have no say in the matter, don’t want to lose my job.”

 

With that I ended the video, it was short and definitely not something I poured my heart into. I stated what was obvious, and after finishing went back to bed.

 

***

 

I placed the camcorder on top of my dresser and hit record.

 

“Today is April 3rd 2020, and I have my first official date,” I said as I stared into the cameras lens “At this point I feel indifferent. I’m not exactly thrilled, but I’m not angry or upset because I’m going on this date. I mean there could be something between William and I, whether it’s a friendship or a possible relationship, I don’t know. Apparently William likes me, or at least he thinks he does. We’re going out for lunch, so I guess I’ll have a report later.”

 

After shared messages between William and myself, a date was set up. He seemed like an okay guy, and if I was being honest with myself he seemed perfect.

 

 _Today was going to be a good day_ , I told myself. I was going to create award winning ads, have a lunch date with a supposed _match_ , which could lead to something more, or at least that’s what everyone is hoping.

 

“Are you excited?” Shelia, an account executive asked when she popped her head inside my office.

 

Apparently everyone at the agency was following along with this campaign, which made it all the more difficult to keep everything on the DL. Every “like”, every guy I came across and swiped left, every date I went on, was broadcasted to the rest of the agency and I did not like it one bit.

 

“I’m indifferent,” I answered, meanwhile shoving folders into my tote.

 

“Oh,” Shelia frowned, she was a bit older than me and apparently a hopeless romantic “I thought you would be, I mean, this guy could be the love of your life, the one you’ll spend the rest of your life with.”

 

I scoffed quietly, just so she wouldn’t be offended, she had a good heart, I knew that.

 

After Shelia left, I headed out and got a cab to Del Mundo, where William and I would be meeting for lunch.

 

To make this campaign as authentic, the other party involved would not know they were being filmed. It was set up that cameras and microphones were going to be placed around a pre-determined table and everything else will unfold from there.

 

My taxi parked outside the restaurant and after paying the driver and closing the car door, I walked inside to be greeted by a hostess.

 

“Fletcher,” I said to the girl before looking around the room to see if William had arrived yet.

 

The table was empty when the hostess placed my menu and waved for me to sit. Once she left I took out my phone and waited, checking the time every thirty seconds. I kept my eyes on the door, waiting for William to walk in, but he never did.

 

My hands were clenched around my phone so tight that my knuckles where tainted white. They were grasping at some hope that I’d be ready when a text message came in saying that he was in the hospital because as he was crossing the street on his way to lunch, a crazy cab driver pulled out of nowhere and hit him and he was now in critical condition. Although I knew the likelihood of this scenario was a zero on a scale of one to ten I begged for it to be the truth.  

 

After waiting half an hour, I ordered myself a club sandwich and a diet coke. I ate my lunch in silence, listening to the few conversations that surrounded me, then paid my bill and headed back to work. I attended to the phone calls and emails I had missed due to my lunch break and worked quietly and quickly hoping that I would be able to leave sooner than expected.

 

Instead of taking the Tube right after leaving work, I began walking down the street. I made this walk quite often, mostly because it cheers me up. I kept my eyes on each of the stores I passed, looking in at their display windows, until I reached my favourite store. I saw her peering outside, struggling to stay up, and when she saw me crouch down in front of the window, her eyes lit up. I stood up from my spot on the sidewalk and pushed open the stores front door.

 

“Marnie, it’s good to see you dear,” Jane called out, seeing me enter.

 

Barking and whining ensued when I entered JJ’s Pet Store.

 

I started coming here when I first moved to London and got a job at Leo Burnett. For some odd reason there was part of me that felt like I shouldn’t be here and that I needed to go home, that I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t have a life in London, when all I knew was my life back home in Sunderland. After my first visit I somehow always found myself wandering this way, so much so that Jane and Jim had become some of the first friends I had made in London. The puppies in JJ’s were my guilty pleasure; for the longest time Jane kept telling me to adopt one, but it wouldn’t have worked out with my schedule and traveling as much as I do. Just being allowed to hold and cuddle one of them, made me forget everything, nothing but happiness beamed from their eyes and their happiness and excitement made me feel the same.

 

“When are ya just going to take one, one of these days?” Jim said as he walked up from behind me with a bag of dog food.

 

“When I’m retired and have nothing else to live for,” I joked, “will Geoffrey still be here then?”  

 

During my time, I had unofficially named the puppies and if I do say so myself, their names were perfect.

 

“Not sure,” Jim shrugged “he is a pretty popular one, better snatch him up while ya can.”

 

“Okay well I’ll be off, you two take care,” I smiled and placed Geoffrey back in the open pen, gave a wave to Jane and Jim and went on my way.

 

***

 

“Date number one,” I laughed sarcastically to the camera “William didn’t show up, so I guess I was stood up. Oh my- I was stood up.”

 

It hadn’t really hit me until now when I was documenting my first date.

 

“For the most part, I feel let down. I know I said I was indifferent, but I still wanted to have a good time, no one wants to go on a bad date. I think because of this I’ll have my guard up, it’s taken quite a bit to bring it down, but this supposed date kind of ruined that. We’ll see though, like my Papa always said, ‘you can’t always win the first round’, though it would have been nice because then this would be over, but I digress.”

 

***

 

**Niall’s POV**

 

 _Just press the goddamn button_.

 

I had been telling myself this for over three minutes now, but the only thing my index finger would do was hover over the blue bar. _Sign in with Facebook_ was taunting me and each time I thought about going through with this idea, an alarm always sounded off in my head telling me to take a step back and reevaluate. Well I did, and everything led back to me talking myself into pressing this button.

 

 _Three, two, one_.

 

There was no turning back now, I had been signed in with Facebook and it was now time to create my profile.

 

 


	3. First Impressions

It had been two weeks since the first date fiasco with William and Tinder had been put on a hold. I was not sifting through guys while waiting for my toast to brown in the morning, nor was I cringing from the profiles some had made while waiting to get on the tube. Tinder was a no go at the moment, but that could only last so long.

 

“Marnie, you coming to the meeting?” Christine poked her head into my office to ask.

“Be right there,” I mumbled back as I typed out a salutation, finishing up an email.

 

As part laid out in the Agent of Record, today was the first day where our team would be meeting with Sean and Justin to discuss how the Tinder campaign was coming along. But more importantly, they wanted to make sure they were putting their money to good use.

 

Walking into the boardroom with my notebook clutched in my left hand and a bottle of water in my right I smiled towards Sean and Justin who were already sat in place, ready to hear our progress.

 

“How have the dates been going so far?” Sean directed his question towards me to begin our meeting.

“Haven’t found ‘ _the one_ ’ yet,” I replied, trying to give a smile that was somewhat believable.

“Don’t worry, love takes time,” he reassured.

 

 _Love takes time._ I felt a strong urge to roll my eyes and scoff at this thought. I just wanted to tell him that I wasn’t going to fall ‘in love’, nor was I going to find my soul mate. I wanted to tell Sean, or more so remind him, that they created this app for people to find locals that they could fuck. I wanted to tell Sean that there was absolutely no chance I was going to fall in love with some guy I met through this app. I wanted to tell Sean that I was only going along with this because it was business, that I made this sacrifice for my job, not so that I could find someone to wind up folding their laundry as well.

 

During the meeting we spoke once again about the budget, clearing up some questions Justin and Sean had, and showing them the mock ups for the creatives. The concept was simple and the insight worked alongside, allowing the target audience to connect with the ad. It took about three hours going over the creatives, the guidelines of the campaign, and how we had planned to reach the objectives before our meeting had finished.

 

I shook hands and smiled before walking out of the boardroom with Ruby and Christine on my tail, following me after I stepped into my office.

 

“We need to get you back out there,” Ruby spoke after shutting the door.

“I think I’m fine right now,” I replied, nudging the mouse, which brought my computer back to life.

“Mar, you know better,” Christine sighed, but before she could say much more, Walker a copywriter knocked on the door and poked his head in.

“Can I get your opinion on something Marnie?” he asked and pointed his hand in the direction of his workspace.

 

I quickly took the easy escape Walker had given me and followed behind him as he led the way to his desk.

 

**Ruby’s POV**

 

“I am done with her,” I gritted through my teeth after watching Marnie walk out of the room.

“Calm down, you need to put yourself in her shoes,” Christine spoke, but I wasn’t having any of it.

 

 _This is it_ , I told myself. I looked behind me, through the glass walls and saw Marnie hunched over Walker’s shoulder, looking down at his laptops screen. It was a split decision and after taking a quick once-over of Marnie’s desk I spotted her cell phone and took matters into my own hands once again.

 

“What are you doing?” Christine asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Getting Marnie a freakin date,” I said, typing Marnie’s password into her phone and logging into the Tinder app.

“She’s going to be pissed,” Chris whispered looking over her shoulder to see if Marnie was on her way back to us.       

 

I ignored Christine and began swiping left and right, finding men I thought Marnie would like and one’s that weren’t too hard on the eyes. My breath caught in my throat when after swiping right for the sixth time and getting frustrated with the lack of interesting and good-looking men, I had found the perfect match for Marnie.

 

 _Niall Horan_.

 

In his picture he was wearing a plaid button-up shirt, had blonde hair, with brunette roots and eyes so blue I wanted to keep him for myself, but I took one for the team and swiped left because he had to be the one.

 

“She’s coming!!” Christine hissed from beside the door.

 

Her voice sparked alarm as I tried with shaky hands to log out of the app and put Marnie’s phone back where I had found it. Fortunately everything was set in place by the time Marnie walked in and I was luckily in the clear.

 

“Don’t you two have jobs to do?” Marnie asked once she had walked into the room and took a seat at her desk.

 

One look from Christine told me to keep my mouth shut and get out.

 

And so I did, but not without making sure to keep tabs on Marnie’s phone.

 

***

 

As a rule Thursday nights were for drinks. After a long day, Marnie, Christine, and I stopped in at our regular spot. Monte’s was busy as usual, but with us being regulars we were known and got a booth easily without much wait.

 

“I was thinking for the Cadbury campaign that we could -” Marnie started in once we were seated and finished ordering our first round.

“Speaking of work,” I interrupted Marnie midsentence “how are the dates coming along? You’ve had three days to sort things out, set up some dates, make some plans?”

 

Our table become very quiet and it was easy to hear the booth next to ours conversation.

 

“As a matter of fact,” Marnie spoke, getting me a bit excited “I have not.”

 

My hopes all but died away. I was hoping that she would tell me that at least one of the guys I had liked for her would have been a match. Especially that blonde hair blue eyed one, because if Marnie was not going to get with him, I sure as hell would.

 

“Hey Mar, did you want to go order some fries for us?” I asked, acting as if I wasn’t pissed off with her.

 

I watched as she slid out of her side of the booth and headed to the side of the bar which was least crowded with people.

 

Checking twice, I was once again forced to dig through Marnie’s purse and pull her cell phone.

 

“Why do you keep doing this?” Christine asked, shaking her head.

 

I ignored her bickering and once again logged into the Tinder app. There I found that several matches had been made, but I was really only looking for one of them. I frowned when I didn’t see his name right away but quickly changed when at the bottom on the list I read the name _Niall Horan_ and a little “Hey, how’s it going?” underneath it.

 

“He liked her!!” I practically yelled to Christine and shoved the phone in her face, wanting her to share my excitement.

I quickly snatched the phone away from Christine and began the chat between Niall and Marnie…well Niall and I, but he didn’t know that. A date was set by the time Marnie arrived back to our booth, with Ed following behind her carrying a tray filled with our drinks and the three orders of fries. I gave Marnie a huge grin when she arrived and come to think of it, I don’t think I stopped smiling that night.

 

***

 

**Marnie’s POV**

 

All I wanted to do this Saturday morning was sleep. I had decided that today would be a lazy day. Work had been extremely busy this past week and I made sure that I would have nothing planned so all I could do was sleep and laze around my flat.

 

At 8:30 am I was brought to consciousness by the sound of my phone ringing and although I very much wanted to ignore the incessant ringing, I knew the person on the other line was going to keep calling until I answered.

 

My intuition was spot on, and so when I answered and heard Ruby on the other line telling me to get ready to go out for breakfast, I almost hung up. Ruby put up a pretty good fight; even offering that we stop in at JJ’s to see the puppies, and Jim and Jane of course, which broke my fight and within the hour I was ready to go.

 

The streets were busy, littered with people doing their Saturday shopping and once reaching the cafe it was easy to spot Christine and Ruby on the front patio.

 

“It’s about time,” Christine joked as I took my place in the empty seat beside her.

“Have you two ordered?” I asked, ignoring Christine’s jab about my tardiness, but to my defense I was invited last minute.

“No, we were waiting for a special someone,” Ruby grinned wildly and a glint in her eyes.

 

Like everything else Ruby does, I ignored the sign that she was up to something and set my sights on the menu in front of me.

 

In my peripheral I could see a man dressed in all black approaching our table. I quickly made up my mind, not wanting to delay any longer.

 

“Hi,” he said, offering a smile.

“Hi, I’m surprised you guys finally got waiters,” I said smiling up at him and looking back at my menu.

“I’ll have the porridge and can I get some brown sugar on the side please,” I said handing him my menu before adding “oh, and can I also get the fruit salad, with no blackberry’s please and thank you.”

“Oh my god,” I heard Ruby say from across the table, while Christine tried to hide her laugh behind a cough.

 

I tried to think of something I said that was supposedly hilarious, but all I had done was order my food, and thinking about that I didn’t even crack a smile.

 

“I’m not a waiter,” the man spoke “it’s me, Niall?”

 

He said this like I was supposed to know who he was and when I didn’t say anything Ruby stepped in.

 

“From Tinder,” she said shaking her head.

 

I could feel heat beginning to course through my body, but more importantly my cheeks. They were flaming as I looked between this man who claimed we knew each other and my friends.

 

“So this place doesn’t have waiters,” I clarified, trying to compose myself.

“No,” Christine, Ruby, and Niall answered at the same time.

“Well that’s embarrassing,” I mumbled and took back the menu from Niall’s hands.

“Great first impression,” Christine laughed, but covered herself as I shot her a glare.

 

I had no idea how this was happening, though I had an idea, and it wouldn’t take long to find the culprits.

 

“I’m sorry,” I offered “but um, my friends have a habit of butting into thing and have obviously arranged this.”

“Oh, uh okay,” was all he said.

 

There was suddenly a sharp jab to my leg and I couldn’t help but feel bad. I was totally unprepared for this and I had no idea what to do, so on instinct I started rambling.

 

“…you could join us now if you’d like?” I asked, offering the chair across from me.

“Actually, I can’t stay,” Niall replied “I was called into uh work today and could only meet for a bit. So I was gonna ask if you wanted to make plans for later.”

 

Before I could respond I was both nudged in the side by Christine and kicked once again in the shin by Ruby, both encouraging that I take the invitation.

 

“Okay,” I smiled “sounds good. But there are a couple things you should know.”

 

“We can discuss that over dinner, I’m sorry but I do have to go,” he apologized “you’ve apparently got my number and I’ve got yours so I send ya a text to let ya know when and where.”      

I nodded my head and watched as Niall swerved through the table and chairs that littered the patio and once he was out of sight and I turned to Christine and Ruby.

 

“It was all her,” Christine pointed in Ruby’s direction “but I must say, I do approve. He seems like a really nice guy.”

 

Just from standing there, talking to Niall, I had to say I approved as well. He was beautiful, though I would never admit that to Christine and Ruby, and his accent was cute, but his presence was what tied everything together.

 

Maybe Niall could be my William.

 


	4. It's A Win, It's A Loss, It's A Tie?

 

This felt like the walk of shame, though I hadn’t done anything…with anyone. It was probably the fact that I had a camera following behind me, recording my every step. The camera caught my nervousness, how I stopped in front of Niall’s front door, taking another minute to myself before raising my balled fist to knock, but before I could knock I took another moment to myself to build up the courage and fight against the million and one thoughts running through my mind.

 

_He said to come here right?_

_I’m at the correct address…right?_

_He said at 6:30pm right?_

_Did he say casual…am I too dressed up?_

_Should I just leave and say I caught a bug that’s left me lying beside the toilet?_

Before I could put a rest to all the burning questions the door swung open.

 

“I wasn’t waiting in front of the door for you,” Niall smiled, “I swear.”

 

He was about to continue, but noticed the presence of someone behind me.

 

“What’s uh, with,” he said pointing behind me.

“Well that’s what I was trying to tell you earlier,” I said, wondering if he was starting to reconsider this date after all.

 

Without another word, Niall stepped aside and waved a hand forward, letting myself (and Max) in.

 

I walked in, stopping to slip off my shoes and handed Niall the six-pack of Guinness I had brought along with me.

 

“A woman after me own heart,” Niall smiled taking my offering and leading the way to his kitchen.

“Well I figured it was the least I could do,” I laughed as I followed behind and stood at the island.

 

For a second it felt like it was just Niall and I in the room, but when a sound came from behind, I once again remembered that we were joined by Max.

 

“Care to explain?” Niall nodded in Max’s direction.

 

I started off by mentioning my job and how this campaign started off. I made sure to mention that Ruby and Christine were the ones that volunteered myself to be the face of the campaign. I also made sure to mention that it was Ruby, not I, who made the connection with Niall and that anything embarrassing that was said during a conversation was Ruby’s words, not my own.

 

“So that’s why I’ve got a camera attached to my hip,” I joked once I finished my explanation.

“Don’t worry, the camera doesn’t bother me, I’m use to those,” he smiled.

 

As I was retelling my story, Niall had his back turned to the stove adding the finishing touches to what would soon be our meal for the night.

 

“You always got cameras following you around?” I joked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I heard him mumbled as he turned back to the stove.

 

We made small talk for a bit until Niall announced dinner was ready and each took a seat at the kitchen table. It felt weird and I as beginning to feel uncomfortable as Max was filming us, as he kept circling us, trying to get different angles and shots.

 

“So you’re a creative director, what do you direct?” he asked.

 

I finished chewing the piece of chicken that was mixed in with the stir-fry before answering the question.

 

“Well, we do a lot of work for John Lewis,” I said and described some of the commercials we have shot in the past and began describing my favourite ad. I mentioned how the idea came, and the general process from my perspective. Surprisingly Niall sat there listening to every detail I had about my job and asked questions prompting me to further explain different brands I had worked with and ideas that I had been apart of.

 

“Enough about me,” I said after what had to have been forty-five minutes of me talking about myself and my job “what do you do?”

 

By this time we had both finished our meal and it seemed as if he was avoiding the question, as he had quickly gathered our dishes and began rinsing off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

 

“I’m a musician,” he finally got out.

 

I eyed him as he walked back over carrying two plates, each with a slice of chocolate cake.

 

“That’s cool, are you in a band or something?” I asked, and then took a bite of cake awaiting his answer.

“Yeah,” he breathed out and looked as if he was working himself up to say more then, it came out.

“I’m in One Direction,” he finally said, his eyes focusing on the cake on his plate.

“I know,” I smiled and laughed at his apprehension to tell me that.

“You googled me,” he deadpanned.

“Um no,” I laughed, “I’ve actually worked with you before…sort of.”

 

His quirked brow sent me into an explanation of our past encounter.

 

It was just after I had moved to London and had started interning for at a small agency, when they got their first big client: One Direction. They had just finished recording their latest album and had set the release date, which was four months down the road and were now currently ready to promote.

 

I remember we were off in the wilderness, with no one in sight, just a bunch of tents that were set up for equipment, hair, makeup, wardrobe, and another for food. People were running around from tent to tent, setting up and taking down equipment constantly, depending on location and props needed.

 

I remember the boys emerging from the wardrobe tent, each with a different look, and I remember one of the boys greeting everyone on set, shaking their hand and offering them a ‘hello’. When he stopped in front of me I was holding two coffees, which were to be delivered to Andrew, the Creative Director and Alice, the copywriter who were going over last minute details. His hand was left dangling in the space between us when he realized that my hands were full and I couldn’t stretch my own out. He offered his help and together we walked over to Andrew and Alice. After handing the coffee he was holding over, he introduced himself as Harry.

 

As a general rule, you always do background research on your clients, that’s why I knew each face that was ‘on set’, I even knew most names of their team members that worked behind the scenes, which meant it was easy to spot Liam sitting on a wooden crate whilst Louis and Niall kicked around a soccer ball just a foot away, and with Harry stood right beside me.

 

Throughout the shoot, I stood off to the side when I wasn’t running around grabbing food or coffee for anyone in need, until the whole thing ended. There were so many things to take in from the shoot that night, but the main one being that Harry Styles had my number. Although as I finished up telling my story to Niall, I thought it would be best to leave that detail out.

 

“We’re working on some new stuff, so when the time comes round, I will definitely be recommending you,” Niall said, smiling around the last bite of his cake.

 

My cheeks warmed at his thought and before they could darken a deeper shade of red, I changed the subject.

 

“So obviously you’re a world traveler, what’s been your favourite place?” I asked, sitting back in my chair.

 

Before Niall could answer I interrupted as a thought was suddenly brought to the front of my mind.

 

“Was that an interview question?” I asked, cringing at myself “that was totally an interview question. Um, just give me a second and I’ll think of another.”

 

I couldn’t think of another and Niall laughed at that, it was a deep vibrant laugh that filled the room, one that could travel throughout his house and be heard perfectly.

 

“How about I ask the questions, since you can Google everything about me?” Niall suggested, which was totally a shit one at that.

“Um no, that is so not fair,” I scoffed jokingly “why don’t we do twenty questions while we was dishes?”

 

There was a bit of disagreement from Niall’s side, with him arguing that I shouldn’t have to do the dishes, but with my persistence and reasoning, he agreed. We decided that I’d wash and he’d dry and put away and while doing so our little game would begin.

 

“Siblings?” was Niall’s first question. I responded with a shake of my head and told him that I was an only child.

“Favourite movie?” I asked without thought and it seemed Niall didn’t need any time to spare answering this question as he listed off the movie Grease.

“Parents?” he offered as his next question and at that I hesitated.

“There uh, dead,” I settled on the answer, although there was a bit more to the situation according to my parents, but I chose to leave that to another time possibly.

“What about you?” I settled on asking the same question.

“Divorced when I was young, Ma remarried, dad’s still on his own, both live back in Ireland,” he answered fluidly.

 

The questions went on until the dishes were all put away in their specific cupboards or drawers.

 

“So what’s next?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

“Well that depends on what you want to do. There are movies, games, we could go out if ya want?” Niall proposed.

“Unless you got any car racing games up in here, because I have no clue how to play anything else, then I vote for a movie,” I said, following Niall and placing myself at the end of the couch.

“Guess it’s your lucky day,” Niall said waving a video game case in his hands “You ever play Mario Cart?”

“Once or twice,” I admitted.

Niall slotted the games disc into the Wii console and grabbed the needed controls for the game. With a quick pick of our drivers and the track, the game was started and we were racing against one another. It would seem that my lack of experience was noticeable as each time I lost, sometimes coming in last place and other times placing somewhere in the midst of other racers.

 

“Can you let me win just once!” I begged Niall after countless rounds and races of me constantly losing.

“No!” Niall laughed “You’re gonna let that go to yer head and we can’t have that.”

 

After a few more losses on my part, I’d had enough and during the next game I decided that I couldn’t hurt my pride anymore than loosing over and over time again, so I chose to cheat. For once Niall and I were neck and neck, I was positive he wasn’t letting me win on purpose, and so as our characters were rounding the last corner of our last lap, I stood up and shifted to the right, hoping to block Niall’s view. I watched as Niall’s character skidded off the track and within seconds I felt the push from behind me as Niall stood beside me, trying to push me and lose my lead in the race. Our hands never left our controls, but our elbows were fighting one another’s as we each tried to finish the race in first place.

 

“I WON!!” I cheered throwing my hands in the air and jumping up at my victory.

“NO YOU DIDN’T, AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION,” Niall shouted back, pointing his finger at me “YOU’RE A CHEATER!”

“AM NOT,” I protested, explaining that I had lost my footing when I stood and that if he had better control he wouldn’t have lost his place in the race.

“Rubbish,” he waved off “you’re a loser and I’m the winner.”

“Max,” Niall and I said simultaneously.

 

This had been the moment where reality had sunk in and that I even remembered Max was in the room and that he had been filming us during my losses, my cheating, and now currently Niall and I’s fight over the winner.

 

“Well technically, Marnie won that, she passed the finish line first,” Max reasoned and I smiled widely until he added on to his thoughts “but Marnie cheated so, I guess neither of you won.”

“I clearly won,” I pressed on and Niall shook his head, desperate for Max to see his side.

“How about we call it a tie and move onto a movie or something,” Max suggested.

“But it _wasn’t_ a tie!” Niall and I said.

 

Nonetheless, Niall and I dropped it, for now, and tidied up the controllers and cushions that had been strewed in our little tiff, before settling in and choosing a movie.

 

It was decided that we would watch a newer movie that had just been released and one that I had never seen.

“What is this movie called again?” I asked as Niall took his place beside me on the couch once again.

“When You Were Here,” he whispered as the opening credits flashed across the screen.

I watched with a deep concentration, following the story as two friends turned lovers fought to be with one another, but the barriers that kept them apart fighting against them. There was distance, there was family and friends, and there was cancer that would ultimately put the couple to test and finally determine the outcome.

 

Nearing the end, my eyes welled as I watched the Leigh Anne, the protagonist, fight to survive, to see her true love one more time, to make it across an ocean and to tell him the three simple words she needed to say to his face, one last time. My heart ached and suddenly I wasn’t alone in that ache. Niall’s hand closed around my own, squeezing as we watched in bated breath as Leigh Anne took her last breath before she made it to Luther, the one she would forever love.

 

We sat in silence after the screen had gone black and Max sneezing broke us out of our own thoughts.

 

“I better be going, it’s getting late,” I said, breaking the silence.

 

We stood, fingers still entwined together, as we walked to the front door and I slipped into my shoes.

 

“I had a good time tonight,” I smiled and gave his hand one more squeeze.

“Me too, we’ll have to have a rematch soon,” he said narrowing his eyes playfully “and maybe when we talk next, I’ll actually be talking to you instead of your friends?”

“Of course,” I replied, waving as I walked out the door with Max tailing behind me.

 

***

 

I was dressed in my pyjamas, camera propped on my coffee table and my back leaning against my couch as I was sat on the floor.

 

“So…the date with Niall,” I started and thought out my answer before finishing.

“Was great. I had a really good time. He was nice, and sweet, but most of all I was just comfortable with him. Like I could picture everything with him and thinking that is super scary and really really really soon because this was our first date, but I got that feeling and I liked it.”  


End file.
